Chapter 9

In the early hours of the morning, Mother Nara finally left Aber's room. Aber sat quietly on a stool in the room, reminiscing about the nearly two years he had spent in this castle. At over 40 years old in his combined lifetimes, he deeply understood Knight Bennett's thoughts. If Aber had not shown extraordinary learning ability and outstanding knight training potential, everything could have remained the same, and he could have left home at 18, rather than having to go to a strange place at just 12 years old.

He tapped the Horadric Cube on his right arm, retrieving a bottle of dark golden 'Qi Condensing Potion.' Aber decided to drink a bottle of the 'Qi Condensing Potion' to boost his strength today. Castle Bennett was like a guardian deity, making Aber, who had just arrived in this world, feel safe. Now that he was leaving the castle, Aber, who had lost his sense of security, urgently needed to enhance his strength to ensure his safety.

The amber potion slid down his throat and into his body, and a continuous flow of qi began to circulate through his muscles. He sat on the carpet, continuously using the Knight Breathing Technique to convert the generated qi. The qi was very calm, just like the qi generated during regular practice, but it did not consume the food in his stomach. Instead, it directly formed qi meridians. The third qi meridian slowly formed under the support of this qi, and the formation process was very stable, unlike the risky breakthroughs Aber had experienced before, where the qi meridians seemed to dissipate at any moment. This time, the qi meridians were very solid.

Aber used the Knight Breathing Technique every night, but he had never used it for such a long continuous period. Normally, he could only perform the Knight Breathing Technique twenty times each night, but today, the Knight Breathing Technique continued without end, with each breath causing the curtains in the room to sway in rhythm.

After a full half hour, the effects of the potion slowly dissipated. Aber's qi meridians had stabilized at three, and the amount of qi not yet formed into meridians was enough to form half a meridian. This made Aber very pleased, as the effects were much stronger than what the auction house had claimed for the master-level 'Qi Condensing Potion.'

In fact, the master-level 'Qi Condensing Potion' mentioned by the auction house also had differences. A truly perfect 'Qi Condensing Potion' contained no impurities. However, no matter how skilled or experienced a master was, there were limits to human ability. Aber's 'Qi Condensing Potion' was synthesized by the Horadric Cube, a divine artifact. During the synthesis process, the Cube strictly controlled the impurity ratio and the effectiveness of the potion according to the power of the rules.

What is the power of the rules? It is a great power, the power of the gods. As a divine artifact, the Horadric Cube can use a portion of the divine power of the rules to alter the synthesized items. A flawless 'Qi Condensing Potion' is naturally much more powerful than an ordinary master-level 'Qi Condensing Potion.' Apart from the Horadric Cube, where could one find a god bored enough to help an apprentice knight refine a potion? Therefore, the 'Qi Condensing Potion' in Aber's hands should be called a perfect-level 'Qi Condensing Potion' or an ultimate version 'Qi Condensing Potion.'

The temptation of becoming stronger in just half an hour was too great for Aber to resist, so he took out the last bottle of 'Qi Condensing Potion' from the Horadric Cube and drank it.

The feeling of rapid enhancement returned. The Knight Breathing Technique allowed the qi generated by the 'Qi Condensing Potion' to continuously condense into parts of the qi meridians. Slowly, the fourth qi meridian formed. The 'Qi Condensing Potion' lost its effectiveness after the fourth qi meridian stabilized.

When Aber stood up, he found his body covered in black stains. His white undergarments had turned blackish-brown, and his nose was filled with the stench of the stains. It was clear that the rapid enhancement of his body in a short period had forced out the impurities that would have been gradually expelled over several years. This resulted in his current state.

He quickly ran into the washroom, threw away his clothes, and used soap to wash off all the stains. He changed the water three times before he was finally clean. Then, he opened the window to let the fresh morning air carry away the unpleasant odor from the room.

Over the past six months, Aber had grown 10 centimeters, reaching a height of 1.6 meters. The long-term systematic knight training had made every muscle in his body well-defined. As a fitness coach, Aber knew how to train to achieve a perfect physique.

Aber was very impressed by the martial arts of this world. Whether it was the warriors or the knights he had seen, they could become incredibly powerful with weapons in their hands. However, the importance placed on unarmed combat was much lower. Most warriors or knights, when unarmed, engaged in brutal fist-to-fist combat.

As a fitness coach, Aber was proficient in boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, and Tai Chi. Although he was not a combat expert on Earth, his extensive theoretical knowledge made him a master of unarmed combat in this world.

In unarmed combat with his older brother Zak, Aber could easily knock down his much taller and stronger brother. Unarmed combat was not determined by strength alone. The scientific system of unarmed combat on Earth made the techniques Aber knew far more sophisticated than those of the people in this world.

This was related to the world's environment. The greatest enemy of humans was the orcs. Engaging in unarmed combat with orcs, who had formidable physiques and lightning-fast speed, was a suicidal act. Additionally, unarmed combat among nobles was considered extremely impolite, and conflicts among nobles were resolved with swords.

Aber swung his fists, performing several combat moves. He felt his strength and speed, which had increased too quickly, making it difficult for him to control the sudden surge in power. He accidentally crushed a wooden cup to pieces when he was about to drink water, reflecting the drawbacks of rapidly increasing strength. However, this was acceptable. Aber was only 12 years old, and it was less than a month until the New Year. After the New Year, he would be just 13, yet he had already reached the level his brother had at 18.

When learning Tai Chi, Aber's Tai Chi teacher once said that Tai Chi was the best method for controlling strength. The style of Tai Chi, which is reserved, continuous, soft yet strong, and fluid, helps practitioners gradually integrate their intention, qi, form, and spirit into a harmonious whole.

Aber stood in the room, slowly adjusting his breathing and calming his mind from the excitement of the continuous level-ups. He performed the first move, Tai Chi Opening, the second move, Vajra Pounding the Mortar, the third move, Lazy Tying the Coat, and so on until the 74th move, Closing. By the time he finished, it was already daylight.

The strength and speed gained from the level-ups had been fully integrated into his body with the help of a set of Tai Chi. His strength had not diminished but had become more harmonious. Standing in front of the mirror in his room, Aber discovered that he could control the external manifestation of his strength through Tai Chi. If he fully released the control of Tai Chi, experienced practitioners could see that Aber was at the level of a fourth-rank apprentice knight. However, by using Tai Chi to control it, he could make others see the level he wanted them to see, as long as it did not exceed his actual level.

This was very useful for Aber, who was thinking about how to explain to his father the issue of him leveling up two ranks in one night. Now he could solve this problem. He controlled his external level to the second rank and satisfactorily packed his belongings.